Skis are conveniently carried in bottom in/binding out, back-to-back longitudinally parallel relationship, gripping them centrally over a balanced moment arm, center of mass carrying point. Ski poles are conveniently carried in longitudinally parallel alignment with the skis. Skis must be oriented in vertical tandem, back-to-back positions to fit into ski carrying tubes mounted externally on the back of ski area buses.
Examples of ski carriers for assisting the hand carrying of skis and poles in the described carrying positions are shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,768,711; 3,841,542; 3,960,302; 4,114,838; 4,676,417; 5,056,819; 5,056,820; and 5,104,017. These illustrative carriers have nylon cords, webbing straps, lengths of fabric, strips of rubber material or the like (hereafter "straps") which wrap around the skis to form loops within which to carry the skis. The skis are placed in tandem back-to-back positions and the carrying loops formed by passing ends of the straps around the skis and securing them by Velcro.TM.-type or other releasable attachment means to selected attachment points on the same straps. The loops are typically hand adjustable; however, once the attachment points have been selected, the loop sizes remain fixed. Fixing the sizes too loosely enables the skis to slip, thereby making carrying the skis in a vertical position difficult. Tight loops flatten out ski curvature (viz. camber), thereby reducing useful life of the skis.
Various arrangements are made in conventional carriers for also carrying the poles. Placing the poles within the ski carrying loops, as done in the '711 and '417 patents, can cause the loops to loosen about the skis, should the poles slip. Providing slots or separate loops separate from the ski carrying loops, as done in the '302 and '838 patents, is clumsy and interferes with the central balance for carrying of the skis. Holding the skis as done in the '820 patent avoids the imbalance problem, but has the disadvantage that the entire weight of the skis is applied in bending moments about the centers of the poles.
The '542, '838, '417 and '017 patents also illustrate known means for transporting a ski carrier when not in use. The '542 and '417 devices can be transformed into belts to be worn around the waist. The '017 device is folded and stored in a separate bag. In '838, the device can be folded into a compact bundle for placement into a pocket. The '542 device, however, utilizes metal buckles that may be difficult to grip or manipulate with the gloved hand and that provide hard jutting ends against which the skis may fall. The '417 and '838 devices, on the other hand, utilize Velcro.TM. closures which operate inefficiently when wet with snow, or else grab woolen articles of the skier's clothing or tissues and other articles within the skier's pockets. The '017 device is bulky.